Spokesman: U.S. forces in Iraq not entitled to chase suspects into Iran

From WikiLeaks

TEHRAN, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces in Iraq have no right to chase any suspect into the Iranian territory, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Tuesday.

"Any entrance to the Iranian soil by any U.S. military force to trail suspects would be against international laws and could be legally pursuable," the official IRNA news agency quoted Hosseini as saying.

He stressed that Iran would "give proper response to any move in this connection in order to defend its security and national sovereignty."

Hosseini made the remarks when asked to comment on a U.S. classified document, dated 2005, which allowed U.S. military forces in Iraq to pursue former members of Saddam Hussein's government and terrorists across Iraq's borders into Iran and Syria.

The document, which was made public recently by independent organization Wikileaks on its website, outlined the rules of engagement for the American division based in Baghdad and central Iraq in 2005. Some American officials said the document appeared authentic.

However, the release of the classified document by Wikileaks Sunday drew sharp criticism from the American military command in Baghdad, which termed it as an irresponsible action.

"While we will not comment on whether this is, in fact, an official document, we do consider the deliberate release of what Wikileaks believes to be a classified document is irresponsible and, if valid, could put U.S. military personnel at risk," said Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, spokesman for the command.